Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2837 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2837

   To establish a Federal Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun
                               Violence.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 10, 2025

 Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania (for himself, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Beyer, Ms.
   Bonamici, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Brown, Ms. Brownley, Mr.
    Casten, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mrs.
 Fletcher, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Goldman of New York,
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Khanna, Mr.
 Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Magaziner, Ms. McCollum, Mr. McGarvey,
Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Moulton, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Schrier, Ms.
 Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) introduced the
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To establish a Federal Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun
                               Violence.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Resources for Victims of Gun
Violence Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Advisory council.--The term ``Advisory Council'' means
        the Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence
        established under section 3.
            (2) Appropriate committees.--The term ``appropriate
        committees'' means the following:
                    (A) The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
                Pensions of the Senate.
                    (B) The Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
                    (C) The Committee on Education and Workforce of the
                House of Representatives.
                    (D) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
                House of Representatives.
                    (E) The Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
                Representatives.
                    (F) Any other relevant committee of the Senate or
                of the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over
                matters affecting victims of gun violence.
            (3) Gun violence.--The term ``gun violence'' means--
                    (A) suicide involving firearms;
                    (B) homicide involving firearms;
                    (C) domestic violence involving firearms;
                    (D) hate crimes involving firearms;
                    (E) youth violence involving firearms;
                    (F) mass shootings;
                    (G) unintentional shootings;
                    (H) non-fatal shootings; and
                    (I) threats or exposure to violent acts involving
                firearms.
            (4) Victim assistance professional.--The term ``victim
        assistance professional'' means a professional who assists
        victims of gun violence, including--
                    (A) a medical professional, including an emergency
                medical professional;
                    (B) a social worker;
                    (C) a provider of long-term services or care; and
                    (D) a victim advocate.
            (5) Victim of gun violence.--The term ``victim of gun
        violence'' means--
                    (A) an individual who has been wounded as a result
                of gun violence;
                    (B) an individual who has been threatened with an
                act of gun violence;
                    (C) an individual who has witnessed an act of gun
                violence; and
                    (D) a relative, classmate, coworker, or other
                associate of--
                            (i) an individual who has been killed as a
                        result of gun violence; or
                            (ii) an individual described in
                        subparagraph (A) or (B).

SEC. 3. ADVISORY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established an Advisory Council to
Support Victims of Gun Violence.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--The Advisory Council shall be composed of
        the following members or their designees:
                    (A) The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
                    (B) The Attorney General.
                    (C) The Secretary of Education.
                    (D) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
                    (E) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
                    (F) The Commissioner of Social Security.
                    (G) The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and
                Substance Use.
                    (H) The Director of the Centers for Disease Control
                and Prevention.
                    (I) The Director of the National Institutes of
                Health.
                    (J) The Administrator of the Administration for
                Community Living.
                    (K) The Director of the Office on Violence Against
                Women.
                    (L) The Director of the Office for Victims of
                Crime.
                    (M) The chairman of the Board of the Legal Services
                Corporation.
                    (N) As appropriate, the head of any other Federal
                department or agency identified by the Secretary of
                Health and Human Services as having responsibilities,
                or administering programs, relating to issues affecting
                victims of gun violence.
            (2) Additional members.--In addition to the members
        described in paragraph (1), the Advisory Council shall be
        composed of the following:
                    (A) Not fewer than 2 and not more than 5 victims of
                gun violence, who shall be appointed by the Secretary
                of Health and Human Services.
                    (B) Not fewer than 2 and not more than 5 victim
                assistance professionals, who shall be appointed by the
                Secretary of Health and Human Services.
            (3) Lead agency.--The Department of Health and Human
        Services shall be the lead agency for the Advisory Council.
    (c) Duties.--
            (1) Assessment.--The Advisory Council shall--
                    (A) survey victims of gun violence and victim
                assistance professionals about their needs in order to
                inform the content of information disseminated under
                paragraph (2) and the report published under paragraph
                (3);
                    (B) conduct a literature review and assess past or
                ongoing programs designed to assist victims of gun
                violence or individuals with similar needs to
                determine--
                            (i) the effectiveness of the programs; and
                            (ii) best and promising practices for
                        assisting victims of gun violence; and
                    (C) assess the administration of compensation funds
                established after mass shootings to determine best and
                promising practices to direct victims of gun violence
                to sources of funding.
            (2) Information.--
                    (A) In general.--The Advisory Council shall
                identify, promote, coordinate, and disseminate to the
                public information, resources, and best and promising
                practices available to help victims of gun violence--
                            (i) meet their medical, financial,
                        educational, workplace, housing,
                        transportation, assistive technology, and
                        accessibility needs;
                            (ii) maintain their mental health and
                        emotional well-being;
                            (iii) seek legal redress for their injuries
                        and protection against any ongoing threats to
                        their safety; and
                            (iv) access government programs, services,
                        and benefits for which they may be eligible or
                        to which they may be entitled.
                    (B) Contact information.--The Advisory Council
                shall include in the information disseminated under
                subparagraph (A) the websites and telephone contact
                information for helplines of relevant Federal agencies,
                State agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
                    (C) Availability.--The Advisory Council shall make
                the information described in subparagraphs (A) and (B)
                available--
                            (i) online through a public website; and
                            (ii) by submitting a hard copy and making
                        available additional hard copies to--
                                    (I) each Member of Congress;
                                    (II) each field office of the
                                Social Security Administration;
                                    (III) each State agency that is
                                responsible for administering health
                                and human services, for dissemination
                                to medical facilities;
                                    (IV) each State agency that is
                                responsible for administering education
                                programs, for dissemination to schools;
                                and
                                    (V) the office of each State
                                attorney general, for dissemination to
                                local prosecutor's offices.
            (3) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
        enactment of this Act, the Advisory Council shall--
                    (A) prepare a report that--
                            (i) includes the best and promising
                        practices, resources, and other useful
                        information for victims of gun violence
                        identified under paragraph (2);
                            (ii) identifies any gaps in items described
                        in clause (i); and
                            (iii) if applicable, identifies any
                        additional Federal or State legislative
                        authority necessary to implement the activities
                        described in clause (i) or address the gaps
                        described in clause (ii);
                    (B) submit the report prepared under subparagraph
                (A) to--
                            (i) the appropriate committees;
                            (ii) each State agency that is responsible
                        for administering health and human services;
                            (iii) each State agency that is responsible
                        for administering education programs; and
                            (iv) the office of each State attorney
                        general; and
                    (C) make the report prepared under subparagraph (A)
                available to the public online in an accessible format.
            (4) Follow-up report.--Not later than 2 years after the
        date on which the Advisory Council prepares the report under
        paragraph (3), the Advisory Council shall--
                    (A) submit to the entities described in
                subparagraph (B) of that paragraph a follow-up report
                that includes the information identified in
                subparagraph (A) of that paragraph; and
                    (B) make the follow-up report described in
                subparagraph (A) available to the public online in an
                accessible format.
            (5) Public input.--
                    (A) In general.--The Advisory Council shall
                establish a process to collect public input to inform
                the development of, and provide updates to, the best
                and promising practices, resources, and other
                information described in paragraph (2), including by
                conducting outreach to entities and individuals
                described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph that--
                            (i) have a range of experience with the
                        types of gun violence described in section
                        2(3); and
                            (ii) include representation from
                        communities disproportionately affected by gun
                        violence.
                    (B) Entities and individuals.--The entities and
                individuals described in this subparagraph are--
                            (i) States, local governments, and
                        organizations that provide information to, or
                        support for, victims of gun violence;
                            (ii) victims of gun violence; and
                            (iii) victim assistance professionals.
                    (C) Nature of outreach.--In conducting outreach
                under subparagraph (A), the Advisory Council shall ask
                for input on--
                            (i) information, resources, and best and
                        promising practices available, including
                        identification of any gaps and unmet needs;
                            (ii) recommendations that would help
                        victims of gun violence--
                                    (I) better meet their medical,
                                financial, educational, workplace,
                                housing, transportation, assistive
                                technology, and accessibility needs;
                                    (II) maintain their mental health
                                and emotional well-being;
                                    (III) seek legal redress for their
                                injuries and protection against any
                                ongoing threats to their safety; and
                                    (IV) access government programs,
                                services, and benefits for which the
                                victims may be eligible or to which the
                                victims may be entitled; and
                            (iii) any other subject areas discovered
                        during the process that would help victims of
                        gun violence.
    (d) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United
States Code, shall not apply to the Advisory Council.
    (e) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this Act.
    (f) Sunset.--The Advisory Council shall terminate on the date that
is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
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